by Meg Xuemei X
The men cheered, and I had to swallow down my anger lest I lose control and reveal my position.
True love, my ass! And I’d considered kissing him and everyone here. I was passing on this mean lot. Right, sweetheart, come to my jungle to seek me out on a date and see what happens!
“It’s good to keep your eyes on the prize, Blaze,” the lightning prince said. “And you did extremely well when you reacted faster than anyone else and shot down the rockets.”
Earlier, I’d been grateful, assuming one of the ships had wanted to preserve me, but this prince had only saved me, so he could behead me himself.
“Those jackals tried to cheat,” he said furiously. “Ground-hunt means we only hunt once we’ve landed. Fortunately, the warlock’s ship agreed with us, otherwise we’d have had to fight against two ships.”
Hmm, so the ship that had landed near the Witch Tower belonged to a sorcerer? My heart fluttered. Could he know about my curse?
“The Mistress isn’t really the warlock’s ship,” a rich and deep, yet cold voice sounded beneath me. Another giant warrior in hunting gear strolled down the ramp, his gait elegant and composed. His silver hair flowed down to his shoulders.
“It’s nice of you to finally wake up and grace us with your presence, Iokul,” Blaze, the fire prince, said with a bite of irony.
Iokul ignored Blaze. “My intel says Elvey brought an entire ship of demons—the foulest beings—with him. We needn’t worry about the ship sent by the old Dragon King. The bounty hunters are from different regions and have nothing in common but greed and bloodlust. They might be killing each other inside their ship as we speak. Elvey and his demon army should be our primary concern. They came with a single purpose—to cut the three heads off the Furies and take over the Dragon Realm. They’ll erase anyone in their way in the most brutal manner.”
“Aren’t we all killers, brother?” Blaze said. “We can be unforgiving as well.”
So, this Iokul was another prince. I wondered if he too wore a mask.
“Don’t underestimate Elvey,” Iokul said condescendingly. “I’ve heard of his reputation. He’s a formidable magic user, and his demons outnumber us.”
Blaze snorted. “I do not fear them as you do.”
It was good to have the information handed to me like this. While their little quarrel benefitted me, it meant I would have to come up with different strategies against each group of the hunters.
“Since your intel seems more updated, what do you know about this planet?” asked the prince, who wore the mask of lightning and thunder. He seemed to be the leader of them all. Was he the crown prince? “What’s your opinion of us sweeping the jungle tonight?”
“Not here,” Iokul said, glancing at his brothers. He was the only one who didn’t carry a blast gun, though he also had a narrow, longsword strapped over his broad left shoulder.
He had a well-proportioned, beautiful body that was more graceful than those honed in the battlefield.
My appreciative gaze dipped to his nice ass, then his strong legs.
How would it feel to writhe beneath him?
I chewed my inner cheek. Stop it, Daisy Danaenyth. They came to take your heads, and you’re fantasizing about fucking the one when you haven’t even seen his face. Really?
But I haven’t touched a man for centuries, my carnal need whimpered.
Shut up! the better part of me said.
If I didn’t keep a cool head, I would soon lose it… them, all three of them.
“It’s unnecessary to hold back information, Iokul,” Blaze snapped. “We discussed combining our forces before this trip. We can settle the score between us after we get the heads. If we don’t watch each other’s backs, none of us will win in this hunt. We’re pitted against the toughest hunters in the galaxy and a demon army. I might not know more about Elvey, but everyone knows what the son of a bitch can do. And no one knows much about this planet other than it being worse than a death trap. And this time, we should not fight each other. After all, we are brothers! Despite having different mothers, we were all sired by His Majesty King Oriel.”
Sibling rivalry was always interesting. It seemed that their competition was age-old and quite open. The other men averted their eyes, evidently not wanting to get between the brothers.
But I saw an opening. Maybe I should use my Fae wiles to drive them against each other to suit my own plan of defeating every hunter? But first, I needed a better entrance than dropping naked among them.
“Of course our term stands,” Iokul said coldly.
“We’ll all honor our end of the bargain,” the lightning prince said. “In the meanwhile, we must proceed with caution. Since everyone is eager to get the job done fast and go home, let’s go scout before we hunt. We’ll divide into three teams.” He looked up. “Is the sky always this overcast?” He returned his sapphire gaze to his brothers and the group of warriors. “Alpha Team A, go check the perimeter of the jungle, under the leadership of Prince Blaze. I’ll lead Team B and push into the jungle from south. Alpha Team C will stay at the base with Prince Iokul. Be ready to back us up when needed.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the warriors answered as one, except for Blaze and Iokul, who didn’t seem keen on taking orders from the other prince.
Iokul turned in my direction with a yawn. “I’ll just go back to my nap then.”
When he took his hand away and I looked at his face, my breath caught in my throat.
I couldn’t blame myself for fantasizing about fucking him half a minute ago. He was a winter prince, but he was just as attractive as his brothers.
His silver eyes were like ice, colder and more piercing than anything I had ever seen. But I knew not to be fooled. Ice could burn hotter than fire. I was certain that beneath the white metal mask etched with the symbol of an ice dragon, I’d find a face so gloriously beautiful that it would rival perfection.
Clearly, the masks were an indication of the princes’ status, since only the three of them wore them. Was that practical? Wouldn’t they be more comfortable without the masks?
But who was I to judge their fetishes?
The ocean breeze washed over me as the wind changed direction. Iokul suddenly stopped in his tracks, his shoulders stiffening.
No, no, no! Damn it.
Dragons, even in their human form, had a superior sense of smell. He’d probably caught a whiff of my scent, even though I’d disguised myself with the jungle’s scent—the benefit of having been on this planet for a very long time. Maybe he’d caught scent of my arousal?
The ice prince sniffed again, his nostrils flaring.
To my dismay, he trained his eyes in my direction and held my gaze.
Surprise rippled across his masked face, a spark of fire leaping in his icy eyes. He smiled.
I didn’t care how stunning his smile was. He would warn his companions, and I wasn’t going to find out what would happen to me next.
I bolted upright.
All the men wheeled in my direction, staring at me in confusion and astonishment. If I were in my Fury forms, they would have opened fire and blasted all three of my bodies full of holes.
But facing a naked, young woman, they were slow to react. And I wasn’t planning on giving them time to recover.
I made sure to send all three princes a sultry glance, beckoning them to come seek me out if they liked what they saw, then I stood gracefully, ensuring they all got a good look at my nakedness.
That way, they were less inclined to shoot me on the spot.
The nameless dragon prince blinked hard, as if he’d never seen anything quite like me. Blaze laughed, and Iokul grinned.
I broke into a run, like a blur with my Fae speed, toward the head of the ship that was closest to my jungle. My bountiful breasts bounced on my chest, the brush of the wind causing my nipples to harden.
“Wait, lass!” the lightning prince called and ran after me. His men followed in his wake.
“Don’t shoot the girl!”
That sounded like Blaze.
I appreciated that, but I wasn’t a girl. I was an immortal woman.
“A beautiful, naked girl! Holy goddess!” someone added, and threatening growls followed the man’s words.
I jumped from the ship and landed in a crouch, the force of the landing causing my muscles to ripple through my long, lithe legs. The dragon men were far behind me but kept giving chase. I glanced at them over my shoulder. They looked genuinely stunned at my amazing speed. I prayed they wouldn’t shift to their dragons to pursue me. If they did, they would catch up to me.
“Star-damned!” someone grunted under his breath just before I shot into my jungle. “If we could shift, we’d have caught her by now instead of running like a bunch of old ladies who can’t roam the sky.”
My heart skipped a beat.
A group of dragons couldn’t shift? How had that happened?
And I’d thought I was the only cursed one.
CHAPTER 4
I dashed into the dark jungle—my long-adopted home and prison—as the familiar scent of bitter blossoms wafted toward me.
I snatched a silky robe dangling from a nearby branch and wrapped it around myself.
I’d raided the Wickedest Witch’s wardrobe the day she’d left Pandemonium, taking everything that had appealed to me. Now my clothes hung from a myriad of trees just in case I needed them. My scent was all over them to warn my monsters to stay away from my possessions.
A sprawling vine of cannibal plant extended toward me, not to ensnare but to caress.
Holding a breath, I commanded the plant to open its path for me, and the sentient plant obeyed the new queen of the jungle. Its vast leaves unfolded to let me step inside, where it usually trapped and then ate the victims.
I didn’t enter its lair without caution. My mind could perceive its intent, and it knew I was strong enough to put it in its place if the cannibal plant attempted to consume me.
As soon as I settled inside, the leaves closed around me, leaving a crack for me to peek through.
The dragon men had chased me to where I had disappeared into the rainforest and halted at the edge. Even though they couldn’t shift, with their animal instinct, they sensed the malice of the jungle. Every inch of this land was alien and hostile.
Artificial light pierced through the shade of the forest, flooding the floor. Shadows danced all around as the strong beams from the dragon soldiers’ visors moved in all directions.
What had happened to their natural night vision? Had the dragons in this era become so weak? They couldn’t shift. They couldn’t see well in the dark.
If my true loves were among them, I was doomed.
“We lost her scent here.” The voice sounded like the lightning prince’s. “But she seems to have lingered.” He sniffed. “We should go west. There’s a faint scent in that direction.”
I’d hung another piece of my clothing on a branch a mile away from here. He must have scented that while my cannibal plant concealed me.
They were lucky that there were barely any cannibal plants on the side of the jungle near the gray ocean.
The footsteps moved further away from me.
My beasts hadn’t attacked any invaders. They were lurking in the deep shadow, blending into the bushes and trees. Through our bond, I had held them in place.
That was one of my Fae magics I’d brought to this place—the bonding magic. If I concentrated hard, I could even slip into their minds and see what they saw. I usually didn’t do that since it always gave me headaches and made me feel hungover.
As the dragon men chased after my scent, I debated whether I should sneak back to the dragon ship and gather more intel. The ice dragon seemed to have more information than the others. He could be brainstorming with his warriors now, even though he’d claimed to return to his nap.
Other than my bonding magic, I could also phase. I’d once phased in and out of the Vampire Tower and the Witch Tower. A ship’s hull shouldn’t stop me.
I commanded the cannibal plant to lower its leaves, and it obeyed. Just as I stepped one foot out, I heard the approach of quiet feet padding on the forest floor. I pricked my pointed ears and smirked a predatory smile. Someone was trying to be sneaky, and it was a lone person—just what I needed.
I would grab him for interrogation first, no matter if he intended to seek me out or that he was lost.
“Girl?” a deep, beautiful male voice called. “Girl?”
It was Blaze’s voice, and he sounded as if he were coaxing a scared, runaway kitten.
Except I wasn’t scared, I was the scary Furies.
The fire dragon peeked in at the entrance of the jungle, his ember eyes scanning the bushes. His golden hair held a hint of red and was tied in a bun.
“Here,” I called out and waved at him, then realized it would be to my advantage to appear less eager and more reluctant and fearful. A damsel in distress always wormed her way into a guy’s heart or pants, especially if he had an inferiority complex or superior superhero complex, like the Archangel I’d tricked.
Blaze grinned, his confident eyes brightening. He’d expected to find me. This one—despite that he’d been a warrior for a while—must have lived a pampered life and always gotten what he wanted.
Good luck getting your way in my jungle and my world.
He had no idea how dangerous it was to enter the jungle. It was even perilous for an army to trespass into the jungle. I was more than giddy that I’d caught him first.
“I didn’t want to scare you away,” he said as he jogged toward me, his voice now rich with honey, yet concealing the fire that was his essence. “I left unnoticed and came alone.”
Right, you got me.
He’d gambled that I would hide nearby.
“Aren’t you clever?” I purred.
Desire floated to his eyes, darkening its golden shade.
Footsteps some distance away pounded in our direction.
“Shush,” I said, darting my eyes around as I considered my next step.
“It’s dangerous here,” he said. “Come with me to my ship and I’ll protect you.”
Well, he was quick to promise me. I eyed him suspiciously, as any fragile woman would, though I was the most dangerous monster in the jungle, except for the Phantom. It was ironic that as a full-blood dragon, Blaze had no idea how deadly I could be.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said. “I’ve never met anyone like you. To encounter an untamed beauty on this godforsaken place is awesome. What’s your name?” He stopped suddenly, as if realizing he was babbling.
I tilted my head. “Thinking of taming me?”
He laughed. “I’m usually very smooth with women.”
The footsteps neared, a few artificial beams of light cast our way.
If we continued talking in the open, we’d soon draw the party to us and ruin my chance to be alone with Blaze.
I grabbed his hand and yanked him toward me. I was utterly taken aback by my eagerness. I wasn’t acting like a lady at all.
Staying in the monster forms for too long had affected my Fae manner.
But the prince didn’t seem to mind as he grinned at me with amusement. “Easy, girl.”
“Inside,” I said, and pulled him into the embrace of the cannibal plant.
The plant shivered in excitement, ready to turn the thorns around the other side of the leaves and pierce the dragon prince’s skin.
He’s with me, I rebuked. Find your next snack when we’re out of here. There’ll be plenty of them for you.
The plant silently closed its smooth leaves around us, leaving a small crack for us to breathe.
Blaze looked around, eyes wide in amazement.
The footsteps approached the cannibal plant and paused in front of us.
“I heard someone talking around here,” a man said.
“Shush!” another man hushed him, and they listened for a few seconds.
The jungle beasts yowled threateningly not too far away, and the men
hurried off.
It was then that I noticed Blaze wasn’t paying attention to the outside world, but instead focusing on me.
“You haven’t given me your name,” he purred.
“Who are you?”
“Right, my manners. I’m Blaze,” he said, waiting for me to reciprocate.
I didn’t give him mine but pulled him closer.
Our breath mingled, but neither of us seemed to mind that. He was so distracted he forgot to ask my name again. His scent, pure male, fire, and sandalwood, twirled around me. He was definitely a dragon, and he smelled just like home—the home I hadn’t seen for nine centuries.
Longing rose in me, so intense I forgot everything else but leaned forward and crushed my mouth to his.
His lips were soft, firm, and sensual. As soon as I touched him, their temperature rose from warm to hot. The fire dragon couldn’t help it. His fire caressed my skin, igniting the lust inside me. It couldn’t burn me, for I was half-dragon.
He pulled me tightly against him, his hand wrapping around my waist possessively, his other hand threading in my lush hair.
I sank into the kiss, not caring that I could barely breathe as he deepened it.
A low, hoarse groan rumbled from his chest. Blaze urged my lips open, and when I eagerly cooperated, he thrust his tongue into my mouth. My tongue boldly met his, dancing with it as he thrust in a mating fashion.
Heat pulsed between my thighs, liquid fire licking my tender flesh. An ache formed deep inside; a need like no other I had ever felt clawed at me. An image of the Archangel fucking his witch flashed through my mind, heating my blood.
I stretched myself against Blaze, closing the mere breath of space there had been between us. His huge erection pushed up against my belly. His large hand left my hair and slipped into my robe, his fingers brushing over my skin. The heaviness of my breast had finally found an anchor. I arched my back, wanting, needing more.
